Mycophenolic acid (MPA) was initially isolated from a culture of a fungus belonging to the genus Penicillium and it is known that MPA is produced by many species belonging to the genus Penicillium such as P. brevi-compactum, P. stoloniferum, P. scabrum, P. nagemi; P. szaferi, P. patri-mei; P. griscobrunneum, P. viridicatum (Biochem. J. 26: 1442-1458, 1932) and P. roqueforti (Appl. Env. Microbiol. 37: 365-368, 1979).
MPA has a broad spectrum of activity like antitumor, antiviral, antipsoriatic, immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory activity. It also exhibits antibacterial and antifungal activities. It is tolerable in large doses and has minimal side effects. It inhibits inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase, an important enzyme in de novo synthesis of inosine monophosphate, a precursor of purines. MPA also inhibits proliferation of lymphocytes that are responsible for immune response. This immuno repressory effect of mycophenolic acid has been important in treatment of organ rejection after organ transplant surgery.
Morpholino ester of mycophenolic acid is used as a prodrug in pharmaceutical composition for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and in prevention of tissue rejection in organ transplant patients.
Penicillium brevi-compactum strain has been used in submerged fermentation where it is reported to produce 2.4 mg MPA/ml at 27° C. in 6 days on shaking and 3.6 mg/ml at 27° C. in 14 days without shaking (U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,891). In solid substrate fermentation (SSF) it is reported to produce 3286 mg per Kg of wheat bran (Sadhukhan et al, J. Ind. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 22, 33-38, (1999). However there are no reports of Penicillium arenicola producing MPA.